Margaret
Olley biography
Margaret Olley AC, AO 1923 - 2011
Margaret Hannah
Olley
AC
(24 June 1923 – 26
July 2011) was an
Australian
painter. She was the
subject of more than
90 solo exhibitions.
Margaret Olley was
born in
Lismore, New South
Wales.
She attended
Somerville House
in
Brisbane
during her high
school years. She
was so focused on
art that she dropped
one French class in
order to take
another art lesson.
Her work concentrated on still life. In 1997 a major retrospective of her work was organised by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She received the inaugural Mosman Art Prize in 1947.
On 13 July 2006 she
donated more works
to the Art Gallery
of New South Wales;
her donations
included more than
130 works worth $7
million. Olley died
at her home in
Paddington
in July 2011, aged
88.
She never married
and had no children.
Olley was twice the
subject of an
Archibald Prize
winning painting;
the first by
William Dobell
in 1948 and the
other by
Ben Quilty
in 2011.[3]
She was also the
subject of paintings
by many of her
artist friends,
including
Russell Drysdale.[4]
On 10 June 1991, in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, Olley was made a Member of the Order of Australia 'for service as an artist and to the promotion of art'. On 12 June 2006, she was awarded Australia's highest civilian honour, the Companion of the Order, 'for service as one of Australia's most distinguished artists, for support and philanthropy to the visual and performing arts, and for encouragement of young and emerging artists'.
Born in Lismore in
1923, Margaret Olley
studied at the Brisbane
Central Technical College
then at East Sydney
Technical College graduating
in 1945 with first class
honours. She went on to
study and travel extensively
- to France, Italy, Spain,
Portugal, Papua New Guinea,
Malaysia, China, Russia and
Cambodia. During the 1940's
she became a prominent
figure in the Sydney art
scene and joined other
artists such as Donald
Friend at Hill End.
Olley held her first solo
exhibition in 1948 and has
held at least one exhibition
annually. She is known for
her colourful interiors and
still life paintings. She is
also widely known for being
the subject of the famous
William Dobell portrait
which won the Archibald
Prize in 1948.
Olley's close friend, the
Australian entertainer Barry
Humphries writes "A visit to
Margaret Olley is certainly
an unforgettable experience.
Her house is a series of
studios, filled burgeoning
with furniture, textiles and
objects that she
incorporates into her
ravishing nature mortes. In
each room, and in various
stages of completion, stands
a painting, propped
sometimes against a chair,
or flung with seeming
carelessness upon a sofa -
there is no sign of so
formal an accoutrement as an
easel.
A simple table, covered with
gourds and tangerines and
upon which might also rest a
Turkish pot, a jar of
flannel flowers or a dish of
desiccated raspberries,
stands against a black and
gilded Chinese screen. In
the foreground, Miss Olley's
painting of this subject is
casually appended. It is not
difficult to image that she
was once (in 1959) the
proprietrix of an antique
store." Margaret Olley is a
legend in the art world -
both as an artist and a
generous philanthropist. Her
paintings are highly sought
after by public and private
collectors both in Australia
and all around the world.
In 1991 Margaret Olley was
awarded the Australian
Office of the Order of
Australia (AO) and in 2006
she was awarded the
Companion of the Order of
Australia (AC) in the
Queen's Birthday Honors
List.
In 2007, Margaret Olley was
appointed a Fellow of the
National Art School. She is
only the third Fellow to be
appointed, joining Peter
Rushforth and John Coburn.
Margaret Olley sadly passed
away on 26th July 2011 in
her home in Paddington,
Sydney.
Reference: Margaret Olley, a
Biography Christine France
(1990); Margaret Olley Barry
Pearce (1996); Margaret
Olley Recent Paintings
(1997).'Far From A Still
Life' a biography by Meg
Stewart (2005)